Welcome to the VIBRANT LIVING NEWSLETTER

We had our first good rain of the season the other day with more forecast, and we appear to be jumping into winter head on here in the northern hemisphere which can be a challenging time of year for those following a raw food diet. I’m continuing to make improvements to the website that will support you no matter where you are or what season you are presently enjoying.

In this issue of Vibrant Living I’ll share the latest improvements along with some other very important health info on a trace mineral deficiency that seems wide spread, a great raw apple pie recipe, and the usual insights and pearls of wisdom that you’ve become accustomed to. lol Enjoy!

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New Website Improvements

I have improved two of my web pages so that they are interactive. First, my testimonies page has been renamed “Success Stories” and it’s now possible for you to submit your own success story with raw foods. And please remember, you don’t have to be 100% raw to post, it’s not about being all raw, it’s about being healthy. What’s so beautiful is that your story may help someone else overcome a challenge and realize success on the raw food diet. So please visit
http://www.raw-foods-diet-center.com/raw-food-diet-testimonials.html today and share your success story.

The second page I’ve updated was previously FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) and is now ”Your Questions”. You’ll now be able to enter questions which I’ll answer for you, and other visitors to the site will be able to learn from your questions. So once again here’s an opportunity for you to help others by asking the raw food/health questions on your mind here
http://www.raw-foods-diet-center.com/raw-food-diet-plan.html

Because the lignans in flax are actually phytoestrogens (weak estrogenic compounds from plants), they may help relieve menopausal symptoms. In fact, in one study, flaxseed was as effective as hormone replacement therapy in reducing mild menopausal symptoms in menopausal women.

- Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why

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Eat Your Sea Vegetables

I want to mention briefly a topic that has come to my attention lately from several sources and could be very important to you. It appears that many people are quite deficient in iodine which can have a devastating effect on your health.

Here’s the note from my friend Dorise who is a very bright natural health practitioner in Canada who gave me a heads up on what she’s finding up north and then my article follows.

“The other little note I wanted to share is about iodine and the statistics that indicate that people are not getting enough in food. Most recent series of studies dealing w 10,000’s of people across north America, finds that for many hormonally linked cancers Iodine is preventative, even curative. Amazingly, these hormonally linked cancers include lung and colon along w breast ovary uterus testis and prostate, precancerous conditions (dysplasia), fibrocystic conditions and hormonal imbalances all through the body, not just those related to thyroid. Iodine has been found to be a missing key colloidal mineral. It can be ingested in the form of sea vegetables, raw is fine of course.”
~ Dorise

Iodine is the element necessary for the production of thyroid hormone, but it is present in every cell in the body. Without iodine, life is not possible. It is one of the most potent lymphatic cleansers available. It's required for the formation of activated thyroid hormones T4 which is then converted to the usable form T3. Thyroid hormone is vitally important to cell development, cell differentiation, and cell metabolism. It regulates fat, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism. It creates body heat and energy. And it affects how vitamins and minerals are utilized in your body.

Iodine deficiency can lead to weight gain and low energy and in more severe cases, it can produce goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland. The thyroid enlarges in the hopes of capturing more of the illusive iodine it desperately needs to carry out metabolic functions.

Although its main function is in the production of thyroid hormones, other organs in the body have a need for iodine in order to function normally. Several studies have demonstrated the relationship not only between iodine and the thyroid gland, but also between low iodine and fibrocystic disease of the breast (FDB), and breast cancer. According to Dr. Gabriel Cousens, studies showed Japanese women living in Japan consumed a daily average of 13.8 mg of elemental iodine and experienced one of the lowest risk for breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer (1 in 20).

Dr. Brownstein M.D., expands on the issue, “Iodine deficiency disorder can result in mental retardation, goiter, increased child and infant mortality, infertility, and socioeconomic decline. Iodine deficiency disorder is the most common preventable form of mental retardation known. Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is also related to iodine deficiency.”

Some of Dr Brownstein’s research finds that lack of iodine in the diet may not be the only contributing factor to iodine deficiency. The chemical bromine makes food and product manufacturing easier and cheaper, but it's a toxic halide that should never be in your body because it blocks iodine in your body, and without enough iodine you can't make enough thyroid hormone as we’ve discussed above. Unfortunately, bromine is used in most baked goods, as well as in pastas and sodas. It's used in pesticides and herbicides that are sprayed on crops. It's used in household products such as carpeting, drapes, computers, automobiles, and furniture fabrics. And thus it's near impossible to avoid.

So by now you’re probably asking so where can I get the iodine that I need for continued good health. Sea vegetables, are a great natural source of iodine and it is also available in colloidal form. Now I’m not talking about tincture of iodine from the pharmacy that you apply to cuts and scrapes which would be toxic, I’m talking about colloidal iodine. You can find several different forms of colloidal iodine on the internet, nascent iodine and detoxified iodine that may help those who are severely deficient get caught up quickly.

Conversely, too much iodine can be a problem. In rare cases, excess iodine has been associated with hyperthyroid symptoms. And yes, as I always say, to know for sure where your current levels are get tested and then you can make an informed decision on how to proceed.

There are several simple tests you could perform yourself which may give you some indication if you have thyroid issues, but are not a substitute for lab tests.

1) Your thyroid gland is shaped like a butterfly with the wings sitting on either side of the trachea. Put your fingers on either side of your trachea just below your Adam's apple and see if you feel any swelling, bumps or abnormalities.

2) Every morning for 5 days before you get out of bed, place a basal thermometer (purchased at your local pharmacy) in your armpit for 5-10 minutes. The temperature should read between 97.8 and 98.2 on average.

If either of these tests shows irregularities then further testing is warranted and even if they do not show abnormalities testing may be a good idea even if you only suspect that you may have issues.

Genetically modified (GM) foods may look and feel the same as conventional foods, but they are drastically (and possibly harmfully) different. These types of foods have been altered by taking the genetic material (DNA) from one species and transferring it into another in order to obtain a desired trait. The FDA does not require any safety testing or any labeling of GM foods, and introducing new genes into a fruit or vegetable may very well be creating unknown results such as new toxins, new bacteria, new allergens, and new diseases."

- M.D. David Brownstein, The Guide to Healthy Eating

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With the holidays quickly approaching I thought I would share a recipe I used to make with my daughters every thanksgiving and Christmas. They really loved it and we had a fun time in the kitchen measuring, mixing and sampling the fruits of our labor as we went along. It’s was a great way to involve them in food preparation and all that entails. This is one the whole family will enjoy whether they’re into raw foods or not. It is high in both fat and sugar so should be eaten in moderation which is why we would only make it during the holidays. Enjoy!

Raw apple pie

4 large apples

1 cup of pitted dates

2 cups soaked almonds

4 pitted dates

teaspoon of cinnamon

juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons of ground chia seed

Making the crust – add almonds to food processor and mix until finely chopped. Add pitted dates and mix until you get a dough like consistency, adding a tablespoon or more of water as needed. Press the dough into a 9 inch pie pan and refrigerate while making the filling.

Preparing the filling – chop one of the apples into ½ inch or smaller pieces and set aside. Using a blender mix the other apples, the 4 pitted dates, lemon juice, the teaspoon of cinnamon, and chia seed until smooth. Mix the diced apple into the mix as you pour into the pie shell then refrigerate for 1 hour. This recipe serves six.

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Osteoporosis in women typically starts in their mid-thirties, often 15 years before menopause, with a bone loss rate of about I to 1.5 percent a year. At menopause, that rate increases to 3 to 5 percent for about five years, then levels off and continues at about 1.5 percent per year. If estrogen prevents osteoporosis, he asks, "Why does bone loss occur 10 to 15 years before menopause, when estrogen levels are still normal?" The answer, he says, is that levels of the hormone progesterone (the other hormone manufactured by the ovaries of menstruating women) begin to fall during a woman's mid-thirties.

Jesse Schwartz from Living Tree Community sent out a newsletter the other day and this is an excerpt I thought was worth sharing with all of you. ~

Most Americans feel instinctively that there is something profoundly wrong with the “health care reform program”. They are so right! All of the attention has focused on providing health care. Few indeed have asked just what sort of “healthcare”, it is, that will be provided.

$1 trillion dollars, over 10 years, of your hard-earned taxpayer’s dollars are about to be spent on a medical system that is responsible for countless deaths each year. Needless to say, in the thousands of pages of legislation, there is little or nothing about prevention and not a word about alive, vibrant food. There is not an intimation of converting the American food system to organic in its entirety, not a waking dream of community gardening and not a soupcon of support for family farmers, the husbandmen of our topsoil.

What is vital and alive in America has been met with a conspiracy of silence. The lineaments of a program that will truly heal and restore America, and at a fraction of the cost, have been swept under the table. In other words, America, you have been disenfranchised and your aspirations ignored.

I suppose that this is what is meant by “change you can believe in”.

With kindness and good wishes,
Jesse Schwartz, Ph.D.
President
Living Tree Community Foods

Hugh’s comments ~

It’s my feeling that the tide is changing and that elected officials are increasingly aware of the dissatisfaction that most people have today with their performance and are truly willing to listen to what we have to say. Now is an opportune time for us to engage our representatives and make our concerns clearly known.

I have written a number of letters to my representatives asking them to stand up for organic food standards and the rights of small organic farmers. I asked them to quite taking favors, money, and bribes from big pharma, and to end corruption in the FDA and the USDA. We should not be subsidizing the meat and dairy industries, when over consumption of their products are at the root of much sickness and disease worldwide. We don’t need our food pasteurized, irradiated and dipped in fungicides; all we need is to keep animal feces away from our food. Is that too much to ask?

When will elected officials start putting our health first instead of profit? The answer is when we start holding them accountable by voting them out of office if they don’t do what we ask of them and we all, at least on some level, know is right. You can help with your vote, your letters, and by supporting your local organic farmers. This and self accountability is the real way to reduce health care costs, not government spending programs designed to fail from the start. Let’s let our voice be heard as we Live long, live healthy, and enjoy happiness throughout our days.

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"When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter five years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go."

The contents of my website and my newsletter are gleaned from my experiences and observations, meant only for educational purposes and not intended to replace medical advice, consultations, or treatment of any kind. I recommend you see your professional health care provider if you suspect you have an illness or disease of any kind. I'm not medically trained, and I would never suggest or imply that I know what is best for someone else's body or overall health, ultimately each of us is the only one who knows what's best for us.

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